Teresa Southwick - What Makes A Father

There was a knock on the door. She noticed he didn’t ring the doorbell again, which meant he was capable of learning. And it was a good thing, too, since the babies were asleep at the same time. Although not for long since they needed to eat.

Annie opened the door and Mason stood there, this time in worn jeans and a cotton, button-up shirt with the long sleeves rolled to mid-forearm. The look did nothing to settle her nerves.

“Come in,” she said without offering a hello.

But neither did Mason. He walked past her, mumbling something about needing to buy a minivan and save for college.

“I suppose that means you don’t want to sign away your rights as a father.”

“No.” His expression was intense, serious. “In fact, since I last saw you, I consulted an attorney.”

Words to put fear into a girl’s heart. “I’m their legal guardian. If you try and take them away from me—”

“Whoa.” He put his hands up in a slow-down motion. “It’s just that even though I’m their father, I have no rights because my name isn’t on the birth certificate. Now, with DNA proof, I will acknowledge paternity and petition the court to legally claim my paternal rights.”

“How long will that take?”

“There’s a sixty-day waiting period, then however long it takes to get a court date,” he said.

“And then you’re going to sue for sole custody?”

“Of course not. No one is talking custody fight here. You clearly love them.”

“I do. But how can you know that?” Where men were concerned, suspicion was her default emotion.

“Because you did copious research on a pacifier. And I just get the feeling that if I look at either baby funny, you’d cut my heart out with a spoon.”

“You’re not wrong.” But how did he know her so well? They’d barely met. “Is that a negative critique on my mothering instincts?”

“Absolutely not. You’re protective. And I think that’s a plus. I happen to strongly believe in traditional two-parent families. That kind of environment is a positive influence in shaping their lives. It’s the way I grew up and I didn’t turn out so bad. I’d like my children to have that, too.”

“I see.” That was good, right? It was something she’d never had and desperately wanted. Especially for the twins she loved so much.

He looked around. “It’s awfully quiet. Are the babies here?”

She wanted to say, “Duh.” Where else would they be? There was no family to help her out. She’d barely heard from her mother and stepfather after they’d moved to the other side of the country. Jess was all she’d had. But there was no reason to be snarky to Mason.

“They’re both asleep at the same time. It’s a very rare occurrence.” His grin made her want to fan herself but she managed to hold back.

“Maybe we should have a parade in their honor,” he teased.

“Good grief, no. The marching bands would wake them up and I want to enjoy every moment of this quiet for as long as it lasts.”

“Good point. A better use of this time would be for you and I to get to know each other.”

He probably wouldn’t like what she had to say.

Chapter Two

Annie tried to think of a reason getting to know Mason was a bad idea. She wondered how Mr. I Had a Perfect Childhood would feel about co-parenting with someone whose story wasn’t so pretty. But he had a right to know.

Common sense dictated that she find out everything possible about her babies’ father and she couldn’t do that without giving him information about herself. But he made her nervous. To reveal her nerves would require an explanation about why that was and she didn’t think she could put it into words. At least not in a rational way. Last time he’d been here, he was less than pleased about not being informed that he might be a father. Annie couldn’t really blame him and wondered if he was still resentful.

“Getting to know each other is probably a good idea,” she agreed. “I was going to have a quick bite to eat while Charlie and Sarah are sleeping. It’s just leftovers but you’re welcome to join me.”

“Thanks. What can I do to help?”

“Set the table, I guess.” She wasn’t used to having help; it was nice. “I’m going to throw together a salad and I have cold fried chicken. I’ll nuke some macaroni and cheese.” She pointed out the cupboard with the plates and the drawer containing utensils. Napkins were a no-brainer, right in plain sight in a holder on her circular oak table.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“One thing about me you should know right now,” Annie said as she put prewashed, bagged lettuce into a bowl. “Never call me ‘ma’am.’ It makes me feel like I need help crossing the street.”

“Understood.” He set two plates on the table. “So what should I call you? Miss Campbell?”

“Annie works.” She put dressing on the greens and handed him the bowl containing long-handled serving spoons. “Toss this, please.”

“Yes, ma—” He looked sheepish. “Sorry. I’m a civilian now.”

“I guess you can take the man out of the military but you can’t take the military out of the man.” She felt a little zing in her chest when she looked at him and struggled for something to say. “So, you were in the army.”

“Yes. I enlisted.”

She put a casserole dish in the microwave and pushed the reheat button. “Why?”

“I wanted to go to medical school and couldn’t afford it. My parents wanted to help, but it’s a steep price tag and I didn’t want them taking out a second mortgage or going into debt. It was the best way to get where I wanted to go without putting a strain on them. When I got my MD, I owed the military four years. The upside is that I was able to serve my country while paying back the government.”

Watching him toss the heck out of that lettuce, Annie realized a couple of things. He was way above average-looking and it wasn’t as hard to talk to him as she’d thought. Although, he was the one doing the talking. With a little luck he wouldn’t notice that she hadn’t revealed anything about herself yet.

Keep the conversation on him. She could do this. She was a grown woman now, not the geeky loner she’d once been. “So now you’re a doctor.”

“That’s the rumor. Also known as an emergency medical specialist.” He stopped tossing the salad. “I’ve started my job at Huntington Hills Memorial Hospital. Just so you know I’m not a deadbeat dad.”

“I didn’t think you were.”

“Just wanted to clarify.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “This kind of feels like a job interview. Maybe the most important one I’ll ever have.”

“I hadn’t thought about it that way. And it doesn’t matter what I think,” she said. “You are their biological father. Time will tell if you can be a dad.”

The expression on his face didn’t exactly change but his eyes turned a darker navy blue, possibly with disapproval. “Spoken like a true skeptic.”

“I am and there are reasons.”

“You’re not the only one. Your sister wasn’t going to tell me I’m a father.”

Annie got his meaning. He was wondering if keeping the truth from a man was a shared family trait. Part of her wanted to remind him she was the reason her sister made the daddy candidate list. Part of her respected his skepticism about her. More often than not people let you down and the only way to protect yourself was to expect the worst. So, yay him.

“That was wrong of Jessica. In her defense, I’d like to point out that she was taking steps to do the right thing. It’s not her fault that she couldn’t see it through.”

“Look, Annie, I didn’t mean—”

“Sure you did,” she interrupted. “And you’re not wrong. So this isn’t a job interview as much as it’s about finding a way to work together for the sake of those babies.”